REVIEW | REINETTE CAFE & PATISSERIE | EDMONTON

Millwoods. Residential area. Strip mall. The last thing
you'd expect to find is a cozy little cafe serving up beautiful French
pastries. With their grand opening held on June 18, Reinette Café & Patisserie defied those expectations and proved to be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

According to their website, the word Reinette actually translates to little queen in French. Between Duchess Bakeshop and Dauphine Bakery, it seems like Edmonton has its own version of the royal family. Since desserts are my calling, we stopped by on Canada Day to check them out.

The shop is small and quaint, but bright and welcoming. The display case features tarts, small individual cakes, scones, macarons, madeleines, etc. Sandwiches are also available, along with a standard coffee and drinks menu.

There's not a whole lot of tables and chairs in the shop, but desserts can easily be packaged up and taken to-go.

Macarons are available in a variety of assorted flavours, including salted caramel, lavender, and chocolate. In honour of Canada Day, maple macarons($1.75) and macaron pops ($2.00) were on feature. The macaron pops were too adorable to pass up, so we chose one of the bear designs. The macaron shells were perfectly crisp and chewy, while the filling was creamy and distinctly maple. If the others are this good, I'm excited to try their other flavours!

I'm a big fan of lemon desserts so the lemon meringue tart ($5.98) was an obvious choice. The lemon curd was refreshingly tart and a great compliment to the creamy torched meringue. If you like things tart and tangy, you'll love this. This ended up being my favourite dessert that we tried!

Up next, we have the Paris brest ($5.98), with soft choux pastry sandwiched with an almond cream and almond flakes on top. I found this one a tiny bit dry since there was an additional layer of choux pastry in between the top and bottom rings. So despite its appearance, there wasn't as much cream in between to go around.

Lastly, the rose green tea macaron ($5.98)! A rose macaron base and top, with fresh berries and a green tea-infused cream. Presentation was indeed beautiful. A feast for the eyes really. I found the rose a bit too perfume-y for my taste, but the green tea flavour really came through. The berries also added a touch of freshness and brightness to the dessert.

If you're in the area and have a sweet tooth, definitely stop by Reinette for some coffee and treats. It's a real hidden gem, and we definitely need more of them.